McDonald’s has been using artificial intelligence to dynamically price menu items in the US and some global markets, according to a report by Reuters. This involves finding the “optimal price” to match what a particular store’s patrons would be willing to pay.
This fluctuates according to location, and even stores in the same city can have different cost amounts for the same exact items, according to information reviewed by Reuters. This is basically surge pricing, like with ride-share platforms, but for hockey puck burgers that have been sitting under a hot lamp.
Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology and it’s pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like “your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price” based on “customer willingness to pay in your area.” Cost differences at nearby locations can be stark. Researchers found that a Bic Mac at a Fresno, California store cost $5.69, but the same burger cost $6.89 at another branch two miles down the road. That’s a 21 percent difference.
Idk where you live but in the last five years the price of the cheap, crappy canned stuff at [grocery store owned by one of three companies in the canadian monopoly] has almost doubled in the past decade. Fuck $20 for 900g of coffee…
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Oh shit!
…Why am I shocked? This isn’t surprising in the slightest.
It’s surprising in the sense that I don’t think there’s even a pretend-reason to jack the prices, they’re just sticking the arm in!
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Actually, there have been pretty severe environmental conditions that have led to poor harvest yields of coffee beans in both Brazil and Vietnam for the past few years. There’s also been a huge bump in demand for arabica beans specifically, which are the most popular type for home brewing.
The unfulfilled demand relative to supply is currently roughly the same as in the mid-70s coffee crisis.
Well it’s nice to find out why finally, at least, so ty. Anyway critical support to the battle against coffee drinkers of the first world.
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